Downside of having this new site? I get about 10-20 spam comments a day. They all use the same form text to make it look like they aren’t spam too, “Great site and very informative did you know about…” Sigh. My favorite was the one that said my blog was well-written and easy on the eyes. We know that motherfucker was lying don’t we?

Anyways, Lollapalooza was last weekend. I was there, I’ve been going to Lolla ever since it became a destination festival in 2005, and I’ll be going to it as long as it remains that way. However, longtime readers of my blog will know that there are certain things about festivals (and concerts as a whole) that really annoy me.  Most of these things are behaviors my fellow concert goers partake in.

The number one rude, offensive and idiotic behavior that attendees at Lolla seem to partake in is talking OVER the music.  What I’m talking about isn’t a passing comment or random “Whoooo!” I am talking about idiots who TALK LOUDLY over the music that is being played.

I will never understand this! Why, why the hell would you pay 200 bucks at stand outside in the horrible humid heat to talk while the band is playing?

Now listen, I’m not a total asshole. I get that Lollapalooza is a three day outdoor festival, and that you’re going to have to talk sometime. And that’s fine. You know what? You can even talk during the music, go nuts. But don’t muscle your way to the front of the stage like an asshole and then blabber about random bullshit while people around you, who actually showed up to the stage early to fucking HEAR the music being played, try in vain to hear the music over your blaring stupid ass voice.

I’ve been complaining about this for three years now. It’s rarely gotten better. This year was exceptionally bad, especially at the DJ stage, where people acting like they were at a nightclub and not a concert venue. So many people were talking over 2ManyDJs that there were times where I actually couldn’t hear the damn music. What the fuck? Don’t they care that some people actually want to hear the music? You may be thinking “talking isn’t that loud,” but guess what, it is. Especially if you have earplugs on. The talking of the idiots around you is crystal clear.

I just don’t get it. At the very least you think people would worry about how they appear to others.

Don’t they worry that some of those people might have cameras?

These two pricks were the dickhead straw that broke my anal rententive back. They. Never. Shut. Up. Not once. Not during the entire performance. Not only that, they seemed to follow me!

There they are again! Still blabbering on, stopping me from hearing 2ManyDJ’s awesome mix of MGMT’s Kids.

Then there was this guy. He appeared to be checking out many asses of women and then commenting on them. Thanks for your input dude, I totally couldn’t tell that one chick was hot until you blurted it out.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Geez, man, it was a DJ set, lighten up. People listen to that shit to party and have a good time.”

First of all, you’re wrong, it’s a concert. Second of all, okay then, what about this backwards cap, iron cross wearing motherfucker? This was during Nneka’s set. Now, for those of you who do not know, Nneka is a brilliant singer-songwriter with an amazing voice. Most of her songs are very quiet. So quiet that if some dickhead in a tanktop wants to, he can ruin it for EVERYONE around him just by talking loudly. Congrats dude.

“What? I can’t hear you? Speak up? Wait…WHAT?”

Okay, talking on your phone during a concert is so damn stupid that they even advise against it in the fucking program. This was during Dragonette, we were about 20 feet away from the stage. The singer (who is amazing btw) was asking the audience to sing along). It was kind of a beautiful moment. A beautiful moment this fucking idiot was not a part of because she thought that was a good time to pick up her phone and make a damn call.

Gogol Bordello is one of the greatest live bands on the planet. These idiots wouldn’t know that though. They never shut up during the whole thing. So yeah, the guys with aviator shades and popped collars were annoying. Shocker, I know.

This one blew my mind. This was during X Japan. These assholes actually tried to talk over X Japan. What was funny was that they weren’t trying it during one of the band’s many slow numbers, but instead during an insane double-bass drum explosive of awesome. (Seriously, X Japan was the shit, more on them in a bit.) Surprise, they couldn’t hear each other. That didn’t stop them from talking LOUDER though, before eventually leaving.

I know my blog isn’t huge. Odds are no one who was a dick at these shows will find this post. And it’s doubtful that anyone who is unfortunate enough to know these idiots will stumble across this page as well. But hell, it sure makes me feel better.

X Japan
Orgasm (Live)
X (Live 1989)
X (Live 1993)
20th Century Boy

Oh, yeah. There was a concert too! Lolla this year was pretty good. I did some blogging of it for Big Shot Magazine. Go read that (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) and enjoy. If you want to look at the pretty pictures, check out my Flickr.

I would like to comment further on one band I saw this weekend, that band being X Japan.

Holy shit. These guys were incredible. In just one hour they delivered more raw emotion, power, and energy than just about every other band I saw (Foxy Shazam being a notable exception). I knew of X Japan before this performance, but I never really gave them a chance. Dragonforce and Helloween aside, I’m not that into power metal. Goddamn what was I missing all these years? Immediately after getting back from Chicago I bought Blue Blood, one of their only albums available in the states (and the one with the awesome song “X” that is playing above) and have barely stopped listening to it since. Their music is like a double-bass pounding drug infecting my brain with awesome. Damn it’s great.

Sure, hide might not be with us anymore (RIP) and they aren’t as bad-ass as they used to be, but if there is any justice, the newly reformed X Japan will finally take over America (and the rest of the world) when they release their new album.

Most of X Japan’s music is rare in America. Only a handful of their albums were release in the states, so I could really post just about anything. I decided to focus on the live stuff, because that’s where X Japan really shines. These are from various albums and singles that I grabbed online. (Um…just say no to piracy kids.) I think “X” is should be their signature song if it isn’t already, but the live version of Orgasm comes in (punny!) at a close second. Their take on “20th Century Boy” is just silly, but still pretty damn awesome.